When starts align

Part 6

"Eru da... enna apdiye nikra?", Ritesh asked seeing Aakash lost in his world yet again.

"Oru nal la ipdi aitane... inum ennalam nadaka pogudho", he wondered but kept that to himself, while waiting for a response.

As the silence continued, Ritesh walked closer to physically get him out of trance when he saw the same scene that had his friend all wound up.

Tara was with the guy that she had introduced this morning but they did not look like just friends or someone who she knew. He was holding her hands and the smile on her face was lit up with her smile.

Faking a cough to remind his friend of his existence, he tapped against his shoulder.

"En da ivlo serious ah iruka?", he could not understand this behavior especially from Aakash who rarely got impacted by someone who he had just met.

He received at least 10 love letters a day. Girls threw themselves at him. Not just because he looked good which he did, he did look like a greek god or a fashion model out of magazine or because he was this very talented musician/singer who already had multiple albums under his name. He was so much more than that.

His personality was infectious. He treated everyone with utmost respect. He never took anything he had for granted. He was hard working. He topped in every single class although he never attended most of the classes. He was never selfish with anyone.

The list was endless.

For a guy like Aakash to be so affected by a girl he knew for less than a day was unexpected.

The silence persisted until Tara and her friend got into a car that was supposedly waiting for them and drove away.

"Machan nee seri illa.. idhu venam", Ritesh advised because he could see this taking a toll on his best friend and he could also sense that if it continued down this path it wont end well for anyone.

Aakash turned around with a blank stare, walked to the passenger side of the car and settled into the seat.

Ritesh understood that this was not a good time to talk, so he quickly got into the car and started to drive.

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Karthik settled into the front passenger seat after helping Tara into the back seat, wanting to put a good distance between Tara and him well aware of how his eyes refused to stop looking at her all day.

"Ivlo koodaya da unaku self control illa?", his mind mocked but he quickly shut it down without giving it too much thought.

Dhruv tried to keep a straight face while watching these two act all squirmy. He fought too hard to keep himself from laughing out loud.

The ride was mostly quiet and uneventful except for the melodious humming in Tara's blissful voice keeping both Dhruv and Karthik in a state of bliss.

Karthik forgot all about where he was or who he was with when he closed his eyes and went into a dream state. Although he wasnt blessed with a voice as good as hers, he was certainly blessed with the ability to appreciate good music.

Before anyone could realize they were at the Kumar mansion aka Tara's sweet home.

A very typical upper middle class home in Adyar. Simple yet very aesthetic.

Karthik knew this home better than his own but all of a sudden it felt very different as if he was about to enter a new place.

"Nee inga erangiko kutty... na poi avana drop panitu vandhuren", Dhruv tried to sound casual because he did not want his sister to get the wrong impression.